Finish Line's stock surges after profit, sales beat expectations

Finish Line Inc.'s stock surged 3.2% in premarket trade Thursday, after the athletic apparel retailer beat fiscal fourth-quarter profit and sales expectations. For the quarter ended Feb. 27, earnings fell to $4 million, or 9 cents a share, from $40.8 million, or 87 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding a one-time charge for the write-off of technology assets, adjusted earnings per share were 83 cents, above the FactSet consensus of 80 cents. Revenue rose 5.2% to $580.3 million and same-store sales increased 4.6%, compared with the FactSet revenue consensus of $568 million and same-store sales consensus of 3.7%. The company expects adjusted EPS of for the current fiscal year of $1.50 to $1.56 and same-store sales growth of 3% to 5%, compared with expectations for EPS of $1.70 and for same-store sales growth of 2.8%. The stock has climbed 4.8% year to date through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 has slipped 0.4%.

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